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The Game of War
The Mountains' Range The most northern part of Mt. Myōbu was all but quiet, the sound of rattling metal and the sport of a battle drowned out all other sounds. Standing with his Zanpakutō in hand, Hyōsube smirked as he easily blocked the sword strikes of Rōshi's blade. Hyōsube couldn't help but lift his head as he blocked the strikes with a limp wrist. "It's pretty nice today." Hyōsube chimed. He knew he annoyed Rōshi by engaging in small talk and wanted to see his response. Rōshi remained silent, lost in his sword strikes. His eyes were glazed over a thick amber as he moved the sword with precision. Hyōsube took note of this. Quickly pushing off Rōshi's own sword, Hyōsube tossed his blade up and slammed the butt of the handle into Rōshi's forehead, sending him backward. Tumbling backwards, Rōshi's eyes quickly returned to their normal color and he quickly understood the situation at hand. Falling into the dirt, Rōshi rubbed his head and grumbled. "Hyōsube-sensei!" he yelled. "I was getting into it!" he berated. Hyōsube chuckled, sliding the Zanpakutō back into its sheath. "I am delighted by your passion for the way of the blade Rōshi." he said, sliding his hand into the opening on his kosode. "Tell me, what how do you believe your progress is going?" he asked. Rōshi lifted himself up and pondered for a moment, running his eyes up and down his blade as he thought. "My grip is too tight and my strikes do not carry enough power. I'm hurting my own wrist by attacking like this." he said. Hyōsube simply smiled and nodded. "Correct." he said. Hyōsube saw as Rōshi continued to inspect the blade, blocking out the rest of the world around him. "Rōshi." Hyōsube said out loud, grasping the boy's attention. Rōshi shook his head and looked up at his teacher. "I am going to teach your the Kiri-otoshi sword-style... do you accept this challenge?" Hyōsube asked. Rōshi's quickly became overcome with joy. "The legendary sword style, Kiri-otshi!?!" he exclaimed. Giving a spin to his blade from the handle, Rōshi jutted the blade into the ground. "Please sensei, let me learn the Kiri-otoshi" he chimed. "Let's get to work than." Hyōsube said. As Rōshi went to grasp his blade, the energy in the air quickly swelled up. A rift ripped in the skies like a weak stitching. Spiritual energy leaked out quickly, shaping into large spiritual hands. "Sensei!" Rōshi called as he was grasped up by the spiritual hand. Quick to react, Hyōsube grabbed the blade that was stabbed into the ground and sliced Rōshi free. "Run now Rōshi!" he exclaimed, quickly slicing another hand. On order, the boy quickly took up down the mountain side. His fight or flight reflex kicked in and he chose flight. Watching Rōshi run, Hyōsube himself was quickly overwhelemed and caught by the spiritual hands. "He's safe..." Hyōsube thought. On cue, dozens of hands shot forward, aimed directly at Rōshi. Forced to watch Rōshi run as fast as he could, the spiritual arms didn't let up. They quickly grabbed him, squeezing down on him with great force. Letting out a scream of pain, Rōshi was quickly grabbed and pulled into the void where the arms sprouted from. "RŌSHI!?!" Hyōsube called at the top of his lungs. Whipped violently, Hyōsube himself was pulled into the void. Seconds after, the void shut closed leaving no traces of Hyōsube nor Rōshi. Floating around Mt. Myōbu, Ōkami let out a loud yawn. "Things are always quiet around here!" he yelled. Curling into a ball, Ōkami watched the sun as it reached the peak of the mountain before nodding off. City Life Mounted atop Black Hornet, Ksagi rode with godspeed through in chase with a large . Reving the engine, Kusagi sped up in an attempt to catch up the the Hollow. His eyes were narrowed, his goal to rid the night of the menacing beast. Following closely behind Kusagi, was his bodyguard and close ally Harusame leaped through the sky leaving a flash of Bringer Light with each leap. Sneering, Kusagi said out loud "What's with the recent Hollow infestation around here?". The Hollow managed to keep ahead of the two. Harusame remained silent, the norm for him. Instead of not answering Kusagi, Harusame lifted up both hands channeled his Fullbring and released a cloud of noxious gas from the canister on his back. "Take the shot" he muttered faintly, stopping short on a building. The Hollow watched as the cloud of gas quickly formed a wall in front of the it, giving it the choice of death by poisonous gas or death by Quincy. The Hollow chose to go out with a fighting chance. "Not so fast!" it bellowed, whipping it's large head around and baring it's menacing teeth. A ball of spiritual energy quickly gathered, surging at the brim. The ball, exploding forward in a narrow column headed straight for Kusagi. Kusagi was unphased by the attack, quickly pulling the revolver from its holster and firing it in one quick motion. The blast from the revolver was different than a normal gunshot, a flash of white light that easily ripped through the Hollow's attack. After cutting through the Cero, the blast continued forward, quickly piercing the Hollow's mask. The mask slowly cracked, quickly turning to a white dust. An eerie cry was heard as the Hollow's body faded from existance. Kusagi, pulling his cycle to an immediate halt, landed on a nearby rooftop. Landing next to him, Harusame stood tall as he pulled the gas back into his canister. "Good work there, you're use of Fullbring has really reached new heights." Kusagi blessed. He was more then impressed by Harusame's skill. Harusame nodded at the comment, remaining silent. It was quite sudden, that the sky began to swell with spiritual energy. As it did on Mt. Myōbu, a rift opened high above the two in an instant and fired forward dozens of spirit-forged hands. The spectacle didn't impress Kusagi. "Harusame, create a dome around yourself and the void. I'll keep it's attention." Kusagi said, quickly aiming his revolver up. Firing another shot, it quickly shattered two of the hands that had charged for Kusagi. Leaping to the next building, Kusagi watched as two spirit hands grasped his bike and tossed it aside. This enraged him enough to curse out loud "Fuck off!" Landing on the side of the building, Kusagi quickly aimed once more and fired two more shots. Meanwhile, Harusame stood tall with his hands together. A wall of gas swirled around him very quickly, melting the spiritual hands as they attempted to breach his encampment. Through the gas wall, he saw as Kusagi fended off in the distance. "Kusagi!" he yelled, out of character, as a hand approached from below at a fast speed. Kusagi wasn't quick enough, the hand quickly collided with him and threw him off balance. Falling from his place on the side of the building, Kusagi couldn't move quick enough, left to watch as several other hands grasped onto him and latched on tight. Harusame attempted to react, he couldn't let Kusagi be killed. "Infest" he said, as the gas spread outward. The spirit hands quickly overcame in a black miasma, shattering into small particles before his very eyes. The one's that grasped onto Kusagi were left unharmed. His attention on saving Kusagi, Harusame failed to notice the two spiritual hands that quickly came up and grasped him. Despite his large size, the hands grew to accomodate his size. Both Kusagi and Harusame were quickly yoinked through the skies and dragged into the void. The last image of that Kusagi saw, was the night-time landscape and the light of his motorcycle in the distance. The rift shut and darkness enveloped the two. He Who Pulls the Strings Hyōsube quickly awoke from a deep sleep, his arms chained and bound together. The room was dark, but his ability to sense spiritual energy allowed him to map out the room fairly well. The major thing that Hyōsube noted, was his Zanpakutō had disappeared from his side. Lifting up both hands, still bound by metal chains, Hyōsube called out "Hadō #4 Byakurai!". To Hyōsube's avail, the Kidō didn't fire. Unsure of the reason, Hyōsube quickly muttered "These shackles..." Glancing around, Hyōsube couldn't spot out any openings or cracks. There was truly no way to escape. Just as Hyōsube deduced this fact, the floor quickly collapsed below him, sending him flying downward. Giving a spin, Hyōsube galantly landed on his feet, now standing alongside many familiar and new faces. "Rōshi!" he announced, walking over to the boy. Leaning down, Hyōsube quickly whispered "What's the situation?'"". Rōshi glanced up above, motioning to Hyōsube to follow. Standing high up above the rest, a very eccentric looking man cackled as he watched the group below him look up in confusion. "Welcome!" he announced. "You are all my guests and participants for the show!" he called, tossing his hands up into the air. "What ''show do you speak of?" called Kusagi, who had stepped forward next to Hyōsube. The man shot Kusagi a glare. "I suggest you do not interrupt!" he called, clapping his hands. A jolt of electricity shot through Kusagi, causing him to topple over in pain. Hyōsube rushed to his aid, helping the Quincy back to his feet. "I'm going to kill him..." Kusagi muttered through the pain. The man went on "I call it, The Ultimate Game!". Leaping downward, the man quickly watched as all of his "guests" backed up. "It's a tournament, 1 on 1 battles to the death! The Winner is granted freedom and the others.... granted Death!" he said, maniacly laughing. "You're fucking insane!" called a new face, draped in attire. His long black hair fell infront of his eyes. The larger man behind him let out a chuckle. "What's wrong kid, afraid of a little challenge?" he chimed. The Shinigami spun around and called "This is not a challenge you fool, he's treating us like animals!" he called. The larger man remained quiet, his eyes locked with the eccentric man. He quickly disappeared from sight, appearing behind the man. Lunging forward, he went for the kill. "Nope!" called the man. The gargantuan man froze in place, unable to move from his attacking pose. "W-What the fuck!" he thought. This same sentence ran through the minds of everybody in the room. "Who are you?" asked the large brute, from his suspention in the air. "Call me, The Puppet Master" he said. Crossing the Boundary Tossing the gigantic man to the side, without even a motion of the hand, The Puppet Master beamed a chilling grin. "I have gathered you all for specific reasons..." he went on. ----- "A member of the Royal Guard" "A criminal of the Soul Society" "A human with unusual powers" "An avenger of the Quincy" "A former Captain of the Gotei 13" "A thief princess of the Soul Society" "And a Boy without a Past" ----- "You seven, are my contestants!" the Puppet Master called. "We're not your personal play things." Rōshi called, clenching his fist. The Puppet Master glanced at Rōshi, who was different then the others. "Your lack of power makes you a very poor choice as a contestant... so you shall play a different role!" he called, snapping his fingers. A rift, similar to the one that dragged them all into this hell hole opened above Rōshi and pulled him in instantly. Hyōsube, left in anger and shock, yelled at the top of his lungs "I'll Kill You!" "Calm down there, he's safe... for now" the Puppet Master said, pushing all of Hyōsube's buttons. "Since we had an uneven seven, the boy known as Rōshi will act as a prize to the winner. The one who comes out on top, shall be forced to take his life!" called the Puppet Master. Hyōsube, Kusagi and Harusame stood in shock. Forced to choose between their lives, their friend's lives or the life of Rōshi. "You're a monster" Kusagi said. The one female in the room stepped forward. "What if we kill you? Are we free?" she asked, mockingly. Her eyes were cold and fearless, she had little tolerance for such games. "Little girl, this is my realm... my rules apply" he said. "I'm... IMMORTAL IN THIS DOMAIN" he yelled, dramatically. The group remained silent. "Alright then" said an annoyed Puppet Master. He quickly snapped his finger, sending each contestant into what looked like seats in a stadium. Noting the lack of Hyōsube and Kusagi, Harusame was horrified when he turned his head to see a battlefield. Placed at opposite ends, Hyōsube and Kusagi were the first contestants in the "tournament". Hyōsube stood in shock, forced to fight somebody he called a friend. Kusagi, stood with his eyes closed. "This is destiny Hyōsube" he chimed. "It's all for one... and one for all." he said, pulling out his gun. "So be it..." Hyōsube said, unphased by Kusagi's willingness to attack a comrade. Bonds Sitting high above the area, The Puppet Master had a full view of the action from his seat. "Here are ya weapons." he chimed, snapping his fingers. Hyōsube's Zanpakutō and Kusagi's revolver materialzed into their respective hands, arming them for battle. "Wrong move." Kusagi said, quickly turning the gun on The Puppet Master. A blast of white light fired out, directly towards The Puppet Master. To no avail, the blast simply shattered into spiritual particles as it came close to the Puppet Master. "Not gonna work. You see, I am invulnerable." the Puppet Master called down to his attacker. An angry glare shot from Kusagi. Hyōsube remained still, his hand gripped very loosely around the handle of his sword. "Kusagi." he said, breaking the silence. "We seem to be out of options." Hyōsube said. "I suggest you face me now." Hyōsube threatened. Inside, he loathed taking such a stance against a friend. But Rōshi's life was on the line, as was his. Kusagi turned to his opponent, giving a spin to the barrel on his revolver. "We've come so far in this friendship Hyōsube... despite you being a , I cannot fathom the reasoning for the pain I feel right now." he went on. Hyōsube unsheathed his Zanpakutō, pointing the blade at Kusagi. "I've always thought we would fight on equal grounds again, never assumed it would be under these circumstances. *** Hyōsube stood, blade drawn and bathed in blood. "Kōta-san, you're a hell of an opponent." he chimed. Kusagi, looking much more fierce and wearing different garbs, was equally beaten and bruised and held Kumabachi in hand. "Give up Shinigami, I will rid the world of scum like you." said the Quincy in a cold tone. Lifting his blade up, Hyōsube quickly called out "Kōdai Kōjaku!". An arc of spiritual energy clung to the blade as he swung, knicking Kusagi as he dodged the attack. A gash across his abdomen, Kusagi quickly toppled over in pain. "That attack, it did some serious damage to my stomach and kidney. Going to need some heavy med's for this..." he thought. Hyōsube, recovering from the swing, quickly spun mid-air and aimed his Zanpakutō forward. Kusagi, frozen in fear, quickly yelled at the top of his lungs "KILL ME, JUST AS YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!". Blood dripping from his wounds and tears trickling down his face, Kusagi was a broken man from the start of the battle. Hyōsube was shaken by these words, enough to lower his blade. Hesitating for a moment, Hyōsube flash stepped to Kusagi and hoisted him up. "Don't show me mercy... from someone like you, it is the greatest humiliation." Kusagi said, his words slurring from the sheer pain he was going through. "I am not like the others Kusagi Kōta... I am a man of good will who has followed the life of the sword with vigor. I am not a sword-totting killer nor am I a killer of the innocent. My hand played no part in the massacre of your people, nor has it ever taken the life of somebody who was without sin. You, Kusagi, are a good man... I refuse to take your life." Hyōsube said. Kusagi was quiet. These words were unlike anything he had ever heard. "..." Kusagi was quiet. "Thank you, Hyōsube..." Kusagi muttered. "I swear yout this though, Hyōsube, we will cross once again in battle. I will slay you, even if you aren't like the others..." Kusagi finished, a smirk on his face. "Alright then... when that day comes" Hyōsube said, beaming a smile back to Kusagi. *** Kusagi, a smile on his face, swiftly tossed his blue hat aside. "Hyōsube, promise me this..." Kusagi said. "If you win, kill that son of a bitch... will'ya?" he chimed. "Will do." Hyōsube said, lunging forward. Notes "***": Three Asterisk Indicate Flashback Category:Story Arcs